Three Irish authors selected for Man Booker Prize longlist

The Man Booker Prize is one of the more prestigious prizes awarded in literature, carrying with it a sense of international renown and a signifier of a writer’s success.

The prize is handled by judges assessing first a longlist of entries, cutting it down to a shortlist and eventually deciding upon a winner from among those selected. This year, out of a total 151 entries, the longlist was cut down to 13 novels, three of which were written by Irish novelists.

The three Irish authors who graced the list are Colm Tóibín for The Testament of Mary, Colum McCann for TransAtlantic, and Donal Ryan for The Spinning Heart. This is the third time that Tóibín has made it to the shortlist, the first being in 1999 for The Blackwater Lightship and then again in 2004 for The Master.

Ireland is well represented with these three novelists, with Ryan hailing from Co Tipperary, McCann from Dublin, and Tóibín from Co Wexford.

The announcement for the shortlist will be made Spetember 10th, and the winner will be announced on October 15. The winner of the prize is awarded around $76,000 (58,000 euros).